Published at 26th of May 2026 6:24 am

Chapter 2044: Meeting Again (1)

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Should they stay? Who would leave? And who would stay? Should they pick Hundred Battle King? Or should they pick Su Yu?

On one side stood a super expert, comparable to ancient human kings in strength. He even had the support of the ancient marquises. And on the other side was someone who had just lost a battle, losing all his accumulated strength. The defeat was so major that he would be hiding in the Death Realm soon.

Both of them were supreme talents, and both were human lords. Many of them had heard about Hundred Battle King. The allied races might be wary of him, but the humans knew that they had nothing to fear from him. He was known for his generosity toward humanity.

Yes, Hundred Battle King suffered a disastrous defeat six thousand years ago. But Su Yu had just suffered a disastrous defeat not long ago, right? Even after Su Yu's departure, the rest remained. All of them were conversing through voice transmissions.

"What do you have in mind, Old Liu?" Someone asked Great Han King.

Great Ming King and the others were gone. It was unknown if they were dead or surviving as seas of willpower. Nobody could know for sure. Considering how calm Zhu Tiandao and Marquis Xia were, it was likely they were not dead. Who knew if these two weren't actually playing an act out with Su Yu?

But was there a need for Su Yu to fake a defeat? He was even going to give up on the Human Realm. Prior to this, humanity had forty-three Eternals, with twenty-six being founding kings. This did not include the newly advanced Eternals like Marquis Xia and Zhu Tiandao. Including them, humanity would have forty-five Eternals in total.

Great Zhou King, Great Xia King, Great Ming King, and Great Qin King were gone. Xia Longwu, Yun Chen, Nan Wujiang, Silk Destroying King, and Zhou Tianyuan were gone as well. With nine missing, only thirty-six were left.

But they had produced some new Eternals lately. Excluding the missing ones, they still had forty Eternals left. Including Zhu Tiandao and Marquis Xia, humanity had produced six new Eternals in the past few months.

Forty Eternals.

Not a single Daofuse.

Many gazes landed on Great Han King, Great Tang King, and Great Shang King. These were the strongest after the four who had disappeared. They were also the nearest to the Daofuse Realm among the remaining founding kings.

Additionally, Heavenly Forge King was also near the Daofuse Realm after forging an excessive number of weapons recently.

Everyone focused on Great Han King and the others. What choice should they make here? What would the allied races choose? The Spatial Beast Pseudo Emperor looked at June, who was seated in silence as though he had turned into a statue.

They also looked at the few Daofuses in the room, such as Tian Yue and Chong Ming, a subordinate left behind by Stable Army Marquis. Stable Army Marquis seemed to have died in the recent defeat as well. In that case, what would Chong Ming do?

Tian Yue wasn't even a human of this epoch. What would his choice be? Bountiful Treasure, an ally, had joined them due to Su Yu's prowess. What would he do now?

The guardians would most likely follow Grand Dream. Would Grand Dream continue following Su Yu?

Everyone was deep in thought.

The Death Realm was not suitable for the living. This did not seem like a good long-term plan for Su Yu. Then again, Su Yu did not have many years left to live.

At that moment, Zhu Tiandao stood up and said, "There is no need to overthink this, everyone. Leave if you want to leave, and stay if you want to stay. Follow your heart. Nobody will force anyone to make a choice they don't want to make.

"Many of you have been protecting the Human Realm for hundreds of years. It's understandable that you will be reluctant to leave. Perhaps who the human lord is doesn't really matter for people like us."

Great Tang King looked at him and asked, "Is your father really dead?"

Zhu Tiandao shook his head, "I'm not sure. I don't cultivate the same dao as my father. I might not be able to sense anything when he's far in the Upper Realm. Bloodline alone won't be enough for me to sense something accurately from so far away. Also, both Great Qin King and Great Xia King have changed their bloodline. I doubt Xiao'er can sense anything."

Marquis Xia was left speechless. After a short silence, he nodded, "Yes. I sensed nothing."

Zhu Tiandao said, "To be frank, the result will be the same even if they're not dead. If Emperor Yu isn't a match for the Upper Realm and Hundred Battle King, what can he do? Nobody is happy to willingly give up on everything they have fought so hard for. Nobody can promise that we can return again after leaving this time.

"Think this through. I will start making the preparations with Xia Xiao'er. We will be spreading the news to everyone. All our armies will be pulled back. They will also be given the chance to make the choice. The ones wishing to stay behind will be arranged to guard the Human Realm after our departure.

"We won't leave the Human Realm helpless. Hundred Battle King might not be our friend, but we have to do what's right. After all, we are all fighting for humanity. He will receive an undamaged humanity. We will leave a proper ruling system behind for him, ensuring a smooth transition of power. We won't be causing suffering to the humans left behind."

Marquis Xia nodded and left with Zhu Tiandao.

Inside the hall, Hou Pseudo Emperor sighed and said, "I have no choice. My race is in a far weaker position. So be it. This saves me the trouble of thinking about this. I'll be going to the Death Realm. It's probably better than staying here. No matter how strong Hundred Battle King is, he is not someone we can count on."

He left. He had to make his preparations, too. The hou race wasn't powerful in the Upper Realm, and he was someone who had helped humanity openly several times. The iron devourer race had March and Great Bamboo Marquis backing them. The spatial beast race had Spacebreak Marquis backing them. The fate race had Heavenly Fate Marquis backing them. What about the hou race? Nothing. Leaving was his only choice. And thus, Hou Pseudo Emperor left with the few hou Eternals who had followed him to the meeting.

Chong Ming stood up as well. Previously, he had brought over a thousand subordinates of Stable Army Marquis with him. There was a decent number of Eternals among them. He needed to check with them.

Seeing that he was leaving, Tian Yue followed and said through voice transmission, "Fellow Daoist Chong Ming, are you...staying in the Human Realm?"

Stable Army Marquis was dead.

And that was a supporter of Hundred Battle King from the previous epoch. Thus, staying in the Human Realm would be a good option for Chong Ming. With the Stable Army under his control, he had a considerable force under him.

While walking, Chong Ming replied, "I don't know. I'll need to check with the others. Since the marquis is no more, I'll talk about this with the others. If they wish to continue following Emperor Yu, I'll do it. If they wish to stay and wait for Hundred Battle King, I'll stay."

He asked, "What about you, Fellow Daoist Tian Yue?"

"Me?" Tian Yue said, "I'll follow Emperor Yu. I have always been someone from Culture King's lineage. The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion used to be the Heavenly Supervising Pavilion. Since Emperor Yu has the legacy of Culture King, I will naturally follow him."

Chong Ming nodded. With a distressed tone, he asked, "Things were fine. How did...all that happen? Is the marquis really dead? We just started seeing hope, but now, that hope has turned into despair."

He sounded sorrowful and helpless. Tian Yue didn't know what to say either. How did all that happen? He had no answer to that.

***

That day, news of what happened spread everywhere in the Human Realm.

The ever-victorious Emperor Yu had entered the Upper Realm with a large number of experts before suffering a disastrous defeat there.

The ninth human lord, Hundred Battle King, was returning. Emperor Yu had chosen to leave and rise again from the Death Realm. He would not be able to work alongside Hundred Battle King. He couldn't even coexist with Hundred Battle King. His dislike for Hundred Battle King was well-known.

Furthermore, some of the surviving ancient humans had chosen Hundred Battle King as well. With his recent losses, Su Yu had no choice but to withdraw from the Human Realm. The entire Human Realm started stirring.

***

Great Ming.

A storyteller shouted in agitation, "Everyone, the prefect has given his order. Those willing to follow Emperor Yu will need to gather at the Starfall Mountain in ten days. Leaving our home for an alien place...sigh. Perhaps we won't be able to return anymore after leaving."

"I heard that Hundred Battle King has always been kind toward humanity. I wonder if he will treat us well after returning."

"Are we really going to the Death Realm? That's basically hell, right? That's a place where the sun does not reach. Forget about enjoyment, you have to worry about even basic necessities there. I hear that when you go there, you can only feast on rotting corpses..."

"That shouldn't be the case, right?"

"I'm telling the truth!"

"My neighbor's neighbor's son is serving in the army. He knew some death spirits as well. Good heavens, they all sustain themselves on blood and rotting flesh..."

"Are things really so miserable down there?"

"Exactly!

"Why did Emperor Yu lose? Sigh. This is sad. We have just conquered the Myriad Realms. I was just about to go on a tour in the various realms with my wife. Are we losing everything just like that?"

"By the way, is that Hundred Battle King as great as Emperor Yu? I heard that he suffered a major defeat thousands of years ago and lost countless experts..."

Numerous people started discussing the pros and cons of staying and leaving.

Everyone was unfamiliar with Hundred Battle King. Su Yu was someone they were relatively familiar with. At the very least, they knew about his achievements. He was someone who had led humanity to a new height. However, he had been defeated.

Everyone would readily support him in the Human Realm even after such a defeat. After all, their familiarity with him alone would be enough for them to support him over Hundred Battle King.

But Su Yu was going to the Death Realm. This was too big a decision to make. Many were unwilling to go to the Death Realm. The civilians, the military, the academic circle, the various families, everyone was in discussion about their choice.

At the same time, Zhu Tiandao and the others were busy gathering resources everywhere. Food and drinks were left behind, and some basic resources were left untouched as well. However, the more important grottos and more valuable resources were all taken away. They weren't about to leave these treasures to Hundred Battle King.

It wasn't like Hundred Battle King was completely broke. He might have been sealed for many years, but he had his own subordinates who were powerful experts as well.

***

The entire Human Realm was in shock.

However, Su Yu was too busy to pay any attention to that.

At the moment, he had arrived at the Celestial Chasm Realm with a small group of people. There were only Su Yu, Grand Dream, Fat Ball, Fate Pseudo Emperor, and Heavenbridge Marquis in the group.

After stepping into the Celestial Chasm Realm, Fate Pseudo Emperor's emotions turned complicated as he sighed and said, "Looking at the current human race is the same as looking at the previous fate race when the celestial chasm race first detached itself from us. I suppose it's not a true betrayal. It is merely a separation due to a difference in belief."

It truly felt similar to what humanity was going through now.

Su Yu was akin to the celestial chasm race from back then, planning to throw himself deep into the Death Realm with a group of people.

Su Yu laughed and said, "I don't intend to become something like the celestial chasm race."

He looked around, looking at the devastation left by the previous war. At the time, a large number of death spirits had entered the Celestial Chasm Realm as well, resulting in a rain of tribulations falling on the entire Celestial Chasm Realm.

The celestial chasm race had been fully erased here. No sign of life could be seen in the vast realm. And far away, death qi could be felt.

Fate Pseudo Emperor stared into the distance and said, "Find the core of the Celestial Chasm Realm and fully sink this realm into the Death Realm. It will achieve the effect of creating an independent realm within the Death Realm, similar to the various realms within the Lower Realm."

Su Yu nodded. Originally, the Lower Realm was only a single realm. Eventually, numerous smaller realms were created, resulting in the current Myriad Realms.

"That won't be hard." Su Yu said, "It is possible so long as you have the strength of a Daofuse. However, the strength of the realm depends on the strength of the person doing it. The Celestial Chasm Realm is relatively powerful, so there's not much for us to do. Instead, we need to worry about the erosion of death qi after sinking the realm into the Death Realm."

That was the true challenge of this task.

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